Haven't posted in the Cafe for a while, but happened to have some tea/coffee goodies arrive.
The first is a Kyocera manual coffee mill:
View attachment 77168
These sell for about $75 - $80 plus shipping stateside, but I got this one for about $45 all in courtesy of a friend who sent me one from Japan.
This is a small compact grinder with an adjustable ceramic grinding mechanism (which means it can be washed). While a little on the small side in terms of bean capacity (a full hopper of beans yields about 4 -5 of the small plastic coffee measuring scoops full of grounds at a medium-fine setting).
I spent about 15 minutes or so playing with this thing and found that the mechanism was much easier to adjust to my liking than my Zass Limu (the adjustment for which I find fiddly) and is better at coarser grounds due to the presence of a spring that reduces burr float at coarser grinds - which results in more consistent grinds. My initial testing indicates that this can handle anything from a Turkish to a French press grind with ease. Because of the way the adjustment works (via a nut on the bottom of the grinding mechanism) I also think it is less pone to shifting than the Zass mechanisms. To add insult to injury, the Kyocera both requires less effort and is slightly quicker than my Zass.
In short, after some initial grinding, I am very pleased with this addition to the collection and will likely make this my daily grinder - even thought I will have to reload the hopper to grind enough coffee for the 8 cups or so I make every morning. I suspect that I may seek out a Hario Skerton as well for comparison purposes and because I think the bean capacity is larger.
If you are in the market for a nice, compact (the handle isn't attached, so this thing is easy to transport) grinder for home, office or travel, the Kyocera would fit the bill.
My second acquisition is actually a replacement - its one of those glass mugs with a removable glass strainer and lid - I use it primarily for pu erh teas at work - I know its not traditional, but it works great and is very practical as the lid doubles as a saucer for the glass strainer.
View attachment 77171
These sell for between $10 and $15 and are pretty common at tea shops and can be found in some Asian markets for even less - so not a big deal if you break it.
In addition to the practicality, it allows me a lot of control over brew time as the basket drains quickly. I also like the fact that this is all glass, as I don't like using plastic or metal utensils for brewing tea.
For me, this and my thermal carafe to hold a few cups worth of hot water is the ideal office pu erh set up.
The first is a Kyocera manual coffee mill:
View attachment 77168
These sell for about $75 - $80 plus shipping stateside, but I got this one for about $45 all in courtesy of a friend who sent me one from Japan.
This is a small compact grinder with an adjustable ceramic grinding mechanism (which means it can be washed). While a little on the small side in terms of bean capacity (a full hopper of beans yields about 4 -5 of the small plastic coffee measuring scoops full of grounds at a medium-fine setting).
I spent about 15 minutes or so playing with this thing and found that the mechanism was much easier to adjust to my liking than my Zass Limu (the adjustment for which I find fiddly) and is better at coarser grounds due to the presence of a spring that reduces burr float at coarser grinds - which results in more consistent grinds. My initial testing indicates that this can handle anything from a Turkish to a French press grind with ease. Because of the way the adjustment works (via a nut on the bottom of the grinding mechanism) I also think it is less pone to shifting than the Zass mechanisms. To add insult to injury, the Kyocera both requires less effort and is slightly quicker than my Zass.
In short, after some initial grinding, I am very pleased with this addition to the collection and will likely make this my daily grinder - even thought I will have to reload the hopper to grind enough coffee for the 8 cups or so I make every morning. I suspect that I may seek out a Hario Skerton as well for comparison purposes and because I think the bean capacity is larger.
If you are in the market for a nice, compact (the handle isn't attached, so this thing is easy to transport) grinder for home, office or travel, the Kyocera would fit the bill.
My second acquisition is actually a replacement - its one of those glass mugs with a removable glass strainer and lid - I use it primarily for pu erh teas at work - I know its not traditional, but it works great and is very practical as the lid doubles as a saucer for the glass strainer.
View attachment 77171
These sell for between $10 and $15 and are pretty common at tea shops and can be found in some Asian markets for even less - so not a big deal if you break it.
In addition to the practicality, it allows me a lot of control over brew time as the basket drains quickly. I also like the fact that this is all glass, as I don't like using plastic or metal utensils for brewing tea.
For me, this and my thermal carafe to hold a few cups worth of hot water is the ideal office pu erh set up.
! All and all good stuff. The Ru Kiln offerings at Andao and DTH are good! Enjoy the teaware!
!
???? If you do not have this bamboo tray, on what are you breaking your cakes & bricks then? I guess you are not making an Ouch "House Blend" of pu with your leftovers 
?
